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cohira's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This story breaks me each time I read it. I love the characters and the lives they lead. Some live short lives full of longing and suffering while others live long lives full of hope and love. A story about loving the people you are given, and yearning for the ones you aren’t. Loving the land and the gods. Choosing what is right, even if it is not what you want. And in the end understanding that every person is needed and curses can only be broken with the blood freely given with life and love. I reread this so I could have a refresher before reading book 2, The Blind Son.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
svjak's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book. So much so that I didn't realize how slow paced it was until I had finished it, AND I read it in one sitting.
It's definitely story and plot heavy. We jump around a bit with different characters and it's a little bit like sitting in the back of one character's consciousness while they're going through their life. It had a sort of hazy, dreamy atmospheric quality to it that I haven't experienced in any other book and I really liked that.
Harmon writes in a way that the characters seem intimately familiar, even just a few pages in. It makes it very easy to connect with the characters and take interest in their lives.
The one thing that's keeping me from a 5 star review on this one is that there were times that the storytelling felt a little weak. There were a lot of time jumps and some of the narrative choices didn't quite feel cohesive. I can remember having a vague sense of confusion throughout the whole book, which may have lent to that dreamy/hazy atmosphere, but it also made it very easy to disengage.
I loved all of the characters in this book. One thing that Harmon did a phenomenal job with is writing the intricacies of relationships. I loved the way Bayr looked after Alba, and the friendship he had with Dagmar. So much of this book is character-driven and Harmon's execution of friendships, familial ties, and childhood curiosity is what really makes this book shine.
I honestly just wish we'd had more time with Bayr and his sister, because she was my favorite character of them all.
It's definitely story and plot heavy. We jump around a bit with different characters and it's a little bit like sitting in the back of one character's consciousness while they're going through their life. It had a sort of hazy, dreamy atmospheric quality to it that I haven't experienced in any other book and I really liked that.
Harmon writes in a way that the characters seem intimately familiar, even just a few pages in. It makes it very easy to connect with the characters and take interest in their lives.
The one thing that's keeping me from a 5 star review on this one is that there were times that the storytelling felt a little weak. There were a lot of time jumps and some of the narrative choices didn't quite feel cohesive. I can remember having a vague sense of confusion throughout the whole book, which may have lent to that dreamy/hazy atmosphere, but it also made it very easy to disengage.
I loved all of the characters in this book. One thing that Harmon did a phenomenal job with is writing the intricacies of relationships. I loved the way Bayr looked after Alba, and the friendship he had with Dagmar. So much of this book is character-driven and Harmon's execution of friendships, familial ties, and childhood curiosity is what really makes this book shine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
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